The #1 Phobia

Google phobias and you quickly see that the number ONE phobia is Arachnophobia. Statistically, this phobia affects more women than men, and this 100% affects me and continues to have a massive control over my life. I know it’s an irrational fear, and they won’t hurt me, and yes, I know how great they are and that they get rid of flies etc., but that doesn’t make any difference to my logic and thinking. I felt anxious just deciding what graphic to use to support this blog. I didn’t want to include a spider picture because it would mean looking at one every time I check the pages.

I make many decisions based on this. Things like:

• Buying furniture with space underneath, so I can hoover and check if any are lurking there.
• Regular cleaning, because I read that spiders don’t like to live in areas where they are disturbed.
• Not putting anything on the floor, thus avoid shocks when picking items up and seeing those legs announce themselves.
• Avoiding going into the garage or the cupboard under the stairs because I know from experience that they are likely locations for their lairs!
• Having various insect sprays, smelly anti spider things like lemons and conkers, and lots of tools, located at strategic locations around the house so that I can deter and attack the monsters.
• And many more…

I’ve educated myself and learned a lot about them, hoping that I would lessen my fear and even conquer it. I even paid to go on a course at Bristol Zoo, called ‘Living with Spiders’.

https://bristolzoo.org.uk/schools-and-education/other-learning-opportunities/living-with-spiders

I read the course content and thought it was about time I tried to address my phobia once and for all. I truly wanted to replace my panic, terror and fear with ones of calm and reduced high alerts. As one of the outcomes cited, I knew ‘interested’ would be a step too far, but I was more than happy with being calmer. Needless to say, the course didn’t work out for me. I was reminded of the Facebook post I put up about it. I thought it best to disguise my expletives.

Well, my spider course was a major disappointment! I left halfway through… mainly because there was too much hypnotherapy… where the goal was picturing yourself in a happy place bla bla bla… I did the first half, but it was becoming too apparent that their goal was that I wouldn’t want to exterminate spiders and that I would somehow live harmoniously with the !@£$X*! co-residing in my house!! As if!!! And stop putting !@£$X*! pictures of spiders on my timeline!!!! All it does is wind me up beyond belief! Cartoons are not too bad, but really… I don’t want to see the ones that live in your house. The ones that live in mine are bad enough… Needless to say… the course failed!! I don’t think it was a waste of money. At least I gave it a go… there is still NO room in my life for living with spiders. and NO, I don’t feel sorry for them.

I learned that spiders do not like strong smells. So, anything like lemon or lavender in copious amounts will deter them – always temporary, though. I will get rid of the million conkers I have around the house because that is a bloody myth. What I do know is that they hate the electric plugs I have around the house. The plugs are transmitting on three different frequencies that do drive spiders crazy and makes them run for the hills, but the !@£$X*! still end up coming back! It seems like mating season trumps anything that could scupper a spider. 

I’m definitely better at dealing with them. Unless I’m faced with a mahoosive one, of course, and then I’ll run for the hills. But… I have my toolkit of weaponry and chemicals (nothing environmentally friendly kills them), and I can’t bear to get close enough to capture and relocate them. The situation today is that I will continue to approach and deal with them with all the energy and firepower I can get my hands on.